1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electrical contact and a method for making the same, and more particularly, to a compliant pin or compliant contact that press fits into a plated or conductive hole of a printed circuit. The method aspect of the present invention relates to a method of making the compliant contact and more specifically the compliant section of the contact.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical contacts, commonly referred to as compliant contacts, are used in place of soldered pins to make connections to plated or conductive through holes in printed circuit boards or the like. Because a compliant contact is not soldered, it can be more readily removed and reinserted than a soldered pin, thereby facilitating maintenance. A primary problem with compliant contacts, however, is that repeated insertion and removal, particularly insertion and removal with a poorly fitting contact or a contact that does not have the right flex, can damage the plated hole. For example, a primary objective of a non-soldered compliant contact is for the contact to engage the plated hole with sufficient surface area and force so that a good electrical connection can be made, but not so great as to damage or scrape off or otherwise damage some of the electrically conductive plating layers on the inside of the contact hole. This is a problem compounded because of the variance in diameters and tolerances of the plated holes.
A variety of compliant contacts are known in the art. A common compliant contact known as a "fish eye" includes a centrally positioned portion having an elongated opening or "fish eye" extending through the center section to provide a pair of compliant blades. Such a compliant contact is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,666 issued to Dent. The center opening in many prior art compliant contacts is formed by stamping. Although such technique is satisfactory for various types of contacts, several limitations exist. First, the tooling for a stamping operation is quite expensive. Second, stamping operations become more difficult as the size of the contact and the material thickness increases. Thus, stamping processes become less desirable for larger compliant contacts. Thirdly, the impact of stamping can sometimes lead to work hardening and thus a change of the material properties.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved compliant contact and an improved method for making a compliant contact which overcomes the limitations in the prior art.